October 23: Principle 6, Chalice Cookies, and Make-Believe

This week our kids engaged in peace, sweets, and make-believe. The K-2nd and 3rd-6th graders studied Principle 6: the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all. The preschoolers made chalice cookies. And, the infants and toddlers used their imaginations to pretend to be animals. Fun was had by all!

In the 3rd-6th grade room, Larry and guest teacher, Michael Nelson, led the kids in a discussion of the desire for a peaceful world and the attempts we make to attain it. Then, through role play and games, the kids gained an understanding of the importance of peace.

In the K-2nd grade room, Cory Zeller guest taught. The kids lit the chalice and practiced their 7 Principles song. Just wait until you see their performance next week – it’s going to be awesome! Then they talked about what “peace” means. Some of their answers were: “quiet and calm” and “no fighting.” After they had a definition of peace, the kids acted out various scenarios where they had to come to a peaceful resolution. The most fun part of the game: pretending to be animals…and the peace stuff! To conclude the lesson, the kids all made peace bowls. As Cory explained, peace involves giving and receiving. You often have to compromise to achieve peace. The peace bowls will serve as a reminder to give a little to get peace.

In the pre-K room, the preschoolers enjoyed creating chalice window art and chalice cookies. Their story for the day emphasized the first UU principle – that each person is unique and important. So, while they enjoyed their snack of delicious chalice cookies, they talked about how each of them are unique and important.

In the nursery, the infants and toddlers read the book, My Princess Boy, a story about a boy who loves to dress up. Then they went outside and pretended to be all sorts of animals. It was so cute to see them running on the lawn as cats, dogs, bears, and tigers!

If you would like to continue these lessons at home, here are some ideas: for K-2nd and 3rd-6th grade children, talk with them about conflict resolution. How is peace achieved – what are good ways and possibly bad ways of achieving it? For preschoolers, make chalice art for your windows at home. You can create “stained glass” with tissue paper. For infants and toddlers, play make-believe with your children. Pretend to cook a grand dinner, be fire fighters, save the damsel in distress, etc. Let your children’s imaginations run wild!